A gas line break halted traffic and temporarily prevented some area residents from leaving or returning to their homes along a  section of Uplands Dr. on Tuesday, March 29. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

CALL BEFORE YOU DIG

Punctured gas line leads to multi-hour closure of busy Nanaimo street

Mar 29, 2022 | 2:27 PM

NANAIMO — A main arterial road in Nanaimo was shut down for over an hour due to a natural gas line break.

A gas line at a property in the 4100 block of Uplands Dr. between Clubhouse Dr. and Stonewood Pl. was struck by an excavator on Tuesday, March 29 around 11 a.m.

Fortis BC’s Jas Baweja told NanaimoNewsNOW both lanes of Uplands Dr. off Rutherford Rd. were closed as a precaution to allow space for crews to conduct their work.

“The majority of damages to our natural gas system are preventable and we always ask everyone to contact BC 1 Call before digging to gather the location of buried natural gas lines. Approximately 90 per cent of damages to our natural gas lines are preventable by following safe excavation practices.”

Fortis BC responded to the scene around 15 minutes after the call to 911 came in and had the line under control around 45 minutes later. Repairs to the line were completed around 2 p.m.

modified weapon

Sawed-off shotgun seized after Nanaimo RCMP spot well-known offender

1h ago

rainbow eyes

Nanaimo judge hands old growth logging protestor additional jail time

3h ago

Paris Bound

Nanaimo race walker Olivia Lundman qualifies for Paris Olympic Games

5h ago

He added these sorts of incidents are the most common damage they see to their infrastructure.

Nearby residents told NanaimoNewsNOW they were asked to remain in their homes during the incident, while others who were out could not return.

Traffic flow resumed to normal along Uplands Dr. in the early afternoon.

Baweja added anyone digging on their property should call BC 1 Call and receive the exact locations of any underground infrastructure to avoid situations like this in the future.

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @NanaimoNewsNOW